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Thread: Lawn Weeds

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    New Jersey
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    Lawn Weeds

    Does this topic depress you as much as me? Spray, compost, crouch-and-pick. The more time I spend on it, the more they thrive.

    I have this ONE light green, tall grass that I just can't get rid of. I tried picking them out manually, repeatedly, but they grow back. Does anyone know what this is and how I may eradicate it?

    I am in Central New Jersey and use a typical Mid-Atlantic seed mix: KBG + rye + fescue.

    I realize there's crabgrass and other weeds in there, but these have been easier to get under control than that bright green stuff. It starts coming up mid July, and augments through August.
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    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 08-21-2019 at 8:58 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Probably need to use Roundup and reseed the spots.
    George

    Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Quorn United Kingdom
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    I live in the Uk and I have a problem lawn
    I would suggest the following advice

    (1) Identify a suitable blend of grass seed
    (2) Determine the best time to plant
    (3) Make a wooden frame one yard square and use this as a grid to work across the lawn (removing or spot killing the offending grass and weeds) then overseed the area
    (4) Set yourself a target eg 2 square yards per day and methodically work across the whole lawn

  4. #4
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    Mar 2003
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    The best thing I ever did for "weed control" in our lawn was to start cutting it much higher...3.5"-4". I've never used chemicals. Yes, there are still some "weeds" but new ones struggle to get a foothold because the taller, thriving grass blocks the sunlight and makes germination conditions less than ideal for "weeds". Most "weeds" thrive in poor soil where there is plenty of light available to them.

    To get things stable as a baseline, you could indeed do a "wipe and replace", but you could also do things like core aeration followed by over seeding of a good grass seed (not inexpensive seed) that is suitable for your lawn's light conditions. As the new grass grows in and establishes a strong root system, it should spread and fill in between the aeration points. Using corn gluten meal very early in the subsequent season should help keep germination of new "weeds" (which are generally annuals) down to a minimum.
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  5. #5
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    Apr 2007
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    New Jersey
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    Great ideas guys. I'm going to have to go nuclear. I'll do it methodically...

    I'll spot kill with herbicide now and reseed in about a month.

    Jim, I'm going to start cutting the grass higher. I've heard that a million times; never did it.

    Also, what brand of seed to you recommend? I've tried all manner of Pennington, Jonathan Greene, and Scotts.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Newburgh, Indiana
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    918
    Prashun, from your description, it sounds like your problem weed is nut sedge. Very hard to get rid of, if not impossible. The weed establishes a network underground, thus its ability to flourish. There are some chemicals that can be applied which will control the weed, however, it does not eradicate it.
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Michigan, USA
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    548
    Prashun,

    You might try dropping a line to Rutgers University Agricultural Extension - they should be able to help you identify the offending plant, and offer suggestions for remediation. They might also offer soil testing service. Rutgers is New Jersey's Land Grant university, and probably has an Agricultural Extension office in each county in the state.

    Gary

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    New Jersey
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    Thanks Gary and Bob!

    Bob, I think you may be right. Manual weeding appears to make it worse which has always made me think it breeds with rhizomes.

    I am going to try an herbicide (brand name Sedge Ender). If it is a sedge, apparently these are hard to control late in the season. I may have to wait until next year and get them early in the season. I have read that it can take 3-4 years to eradicate. However, I've been living with and ignoring this for 15 years. So, like Leslie Nielsen said in Creepshow, "I can hold my breath a long time."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
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    We've turned almost all of our yard over to native wildflowers and grasses. There are several weeds I still battle, but crabgrass, nut sedge etc are no longer an issue. Mowing once a year is a definite improvement in the workload, plus it's a whole lot prettier and supports an impressive range of wildlife. (10 bluebirds successfully fledged this year!)

    IMG_1443 (1).jpg

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    The best thing I ever did for "weed control" in our lawn was to start cutting it much higher...3.5"-4". I've never used chemicals. Yes, there are still some "weeds" but new ones struggle to get a foothold because the taller, thriving grass blocks the sunlight and makes germination conditions less than ideal for "weeds". Most "weeds" thrive in poor soil where there is plenty of light available to them.

    To get things stable as a baseline, you could indeed do a "wipe and replace", but you could also do things like core aeration followed by over seeding of a good grass seed (not inexpensive seed) that is suitable for your lawn's light conditions. As the new grass grows in and establishes a strong root system, it should spread and fill in between the aeration points. Using corn gluten meal very early in the subsequent season should help keep germination of new "weeds" (which are generally annuals) down to a minimum.
    Agreed on the cutting height.

    I have to mention something about corn gluten meal however. (Years of experience playing around with it.) It may work well in the North, but here in the South it barely works at all. It seems to rely on well-defined seasons, seasonal boundaries. Here in the South we have no such things, and there is a broad overlap among the many varieties of weeds we have, re their germination and growth periods, so what you end up doing with it is just fertilizing "most" (it seems) of your weeds. Even if you _could_ pin down when things were about to germinate, it's unpredictable year over year.

    Corn gluten meal does, however, seem reliably effective against annual bluegrass, even down here.

    (Yes I know Prashun is in New Jersey, but just in case anyone else much further South may be tempted by it.)
    Last edited by Doug Dawson; 08-21-2019 at 12:59 PM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
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    2,754
    Looks like yellow nut sedge.
    https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs119/

  12. #12
    I finally tried some of the connect-to-the-garden-hose weed killers. For 2 years I've used Spectracide 'Weed Stop for Lawns', and it does work okay. Some weed come back in a few months but at least it's easy to apply.

    This spring I used some Vigora weed n feed spray, and I'll be dam'd if it didn't kill off all the patch of morning glory in the back yard that's been getting bigger every year. It's GONE! It may come back so the the jury is out, but the Spectracide never did kill it all off. But maybe it helped?

    I know this much, I'm never messing with bagged stuff and spreaders again.
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  13. #13
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    Dec 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    We've turned almost all of our yard over to native wildflowers and grasses. There are several weeds I still battle, but crabgrass, nut sedge etc are no longer an issue. Mowing once a year is a definite improvement in the workload, plus it's a whole lot prettier and supports an impressive range of wildlife. (10 bluebirds successfully fledged this year!)
    Congratulations to you, Roger. Typical lawns provide very little sustenance and habitat for birds and insects. We have planted some gardens to attract pollinators and our plan is to get rid of turf grass to the extent we can. Not having to mow would be an additional benefit for me.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    The best thing I ever did for "weed control" in our lawn was to start cutting it much higher...3.5"-4". I've never used chemicals. Yes, there are still some "weeds" but new ones struggle to get a foothold because the taller, thriving grass blocks the sunlight and makes germination conditions less than ideal for "weeds". Most "weeds" thrive in poor soil where there is plenty of light available to them.
    Oh you are so right! It just dawned on me this is why we have so many more weeds in the last two years. Our very elderly dog was having trouble walking in the grass so we were cutting the grass really short to help her out. After she passed last year, we kept cutting it short out of habit. LOML and I have been commenting about the weed explosion this year in the grass and that is why. Time to adjust the mower level!
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  15. #15
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    Vigora? Morning Glory getting bigger every year? There's a joke in here somewhere

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